Traitor
by rhythmbutterfly
Summary: Lindsay wants info. Danny wants romance. Will either of them get what they want? Read and review, please!
1. Chapter 1 An Interesting Conversation

Author's Note: This is kind of an anti-Lindsay story, but I want to be clear that I'm not personally anti-Lindsay. This plot sprung to mind after RSRD last season, and it just wouldn't go away. Hey, at least Lindsay's character gets a little more definition here…

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They do, however, live inside my head.

Chapter 1: An Interesting Conversation

Lindsay Monroe was eavesdropping. She hadn't really intended to, but Flack and Stella mentioned Danny's name, so she had to stop. And the conversation they were having was quite intriguing.

"Did I hear Danny say he was going to visit his parents this weekend?" Stella asked.

Flack nodded as he poured them each a cup of coffee. "Yeah, I don't think he really wants to, but with Louie's condition, he doesn't have much of a choice."

Lindsay pretended to arrange some files she was holding as she stood just outside the break room. Flack looked toward the doorway. Lindsay quickly back further out of sight. Why wouldn't Danny want to see his parents, she wondered. She knew he had been in contact with them since the incident involving Louie and the Tanglewood Boys. Lindsay had met Danny's mother, Elizabeth, at the hospital shortly after Sonny Sassone's arrest. Lindsay had been impressed with both Mrs. Messer's composure during the ordeal and the calming effect she seemed to have on her youngest son. Danny's emotions had immediately been reigned in with the appearance of his mother.

Lindsay's ears pricked up as Stella and Flack continued their conversation.

"Has Danny talked to you at all about how things stand?" Stella asked with concern.

"Not really. He's in a difficult position, to say the least, but I know his parents have always had his back in the past. I can't imagine that changing now. I think he just wants to keep his distance so that certain people don't get the wrong idea." Don answered. Stella looked relieved.

"Well, you know more about that world than I do. I just hope Danny knows that we all have his back, too. We can protect him."

"Stella, believe me, Anthony Messer will protect his son, and I don't think he needs our help." Don looked directly into Stella's eyes as he said this. "I haven't heard anything floating around about any rivals getting restless, and this isn't 'The Godfather.' Everything's fine. If you try to get involved, you'll just make Danny mad. He knows what to do."

Stella nodded in agreement. "You're right. He's been dealing with this his whole life, and he's dealt with it well." She echoed Flack's earlier statement. "Everything's fine."

Lindsay turned around and walked the opposite direction, toward her desk. Her thoughts were running through her mind a mile a minute. What is Danny handling, she wondered. What does Stella want to protect him from? Lindsay's eyes widened as she remembered Flack's reference to "The Godfather."

"I think a little research is in order," she said softly to herself.


	2. Chapter 2 Lindsay's Secret

Chapter 2: Lindsay's Secret

Lindsay sat at her desk, lost in thought. She was anxious to start looking for information on Danny's family, but memories were flooding back to her.

Flashback

"_Detective Monroe, are you sure this is the location?" Supervising Lieutenant James Daniels peered across the surveillance van at the young CSI._

"_Yes, this is definitely the place. Officer Jones' day planner mentioned this abandoned warehouse along with Mickey Colston's name. They'll wait until after dark to make the actual deal, and we'll be here when it goes down."_

"_So, while we're waiting, remind me how you got involved in this. We don't normally include CSI's in drug busts, even when they involve Bozeman police officers."_

"_I observed Officer Jones associating with a known drug dealer while working a case a few months back. I became suspicious and gathered evidence linking him to several major players in the drug world. I personally informed Chief Drew of the circumstances and asked to be included on the bust." Lindsay spoke with a calm sense of detachment._

_Lieutenant Daniels leveled his gaze at her. "You investigated a fellow officer behind his back and personally outed him to the chief of police. You realize, of course, that whether you are correct or not, the rest of the department will know you're a rat by the time the sun comes up tomorrow."_

_Lindsay took her eyes off the surveillance monitor to focus on Lieutenant Daniels with startled eyes. She spoke testily. "I wasn't aware that being a police officer was a popularity contest."_

"_Detective Monroe, I'm just telling you how it's going to be. Life in Bozeman is about to get more difficult for you, and your holier-than-thou attitude isn't going to make it any easier."_

_Lindsay turned away from Lieutenant Daniels and focused on the screen. "I'm sure I can handle it."_

Back to the Present

But I couldn't handle it after all, Lindsay thought. She kneaded her forehead with her fingertips as she remembered what had followed her conversation with Lieutenant Daniels. Multiple suspects showing up at the warehouse…..exiting the van and surrounding the building…..the shootout between police and suspects….ten dead bodies lying on the dirty floor when it was all over, including Officer Jones and two more of Bozeman's finest. Even though she had received a commendation for her actions that night, Lieutenant Daniels had been right. The rest of the department had not forgiven her eagerness to investigate one of their brothers. Lindsay had ended up accepting an offer to come to New York City partially to get away form the angry, suspicious behavior of her colleagues.

"And here we go again." Lindsay said under her breath. Her fingers hovered above her computer keyboard as she weighed her options. It's not like I'm going to investigate Danny himself, she reasoned. He's not a suspect in any crimes that I know of. I'll be looking primarily at his father. And I have a responsibility to the public. Lindsay nodded in satisfactions. This wouldn't turn out like Bozeman.

At that moment, Danny walked by, caught her eye, and smiled. Lindsay smiled back as she entered Anthony Messer's name into the crime database.


	3. Chapter 3 Danny's Unwitting Mistake

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews so far, few as there have been. I promise things are going to start to get more angsty!!

Chapter 3: Danny's Unwitting Mistake

"Danny, take Lindsay to this location. We recovered the car belonging to the victim of the carjacking-murder yesterday. We need prints from the steering wheel to match to the suspect we have in custody. Make sure you collect any blood evidence as well." Mac handed Danny a sheet of paper detailing the location of the car.

"And where would Miss Lindsay be?" Danny inquired cheerfully, taking the information from Mac.

"Last time I saw her, she was working at her computer. She's been there all day gathering information for an ongoing case she's been working on."

"What case is that?" asked Danny.

"You'd have to ask her. She wouldn't say much about it and I've learned to let her run with a hunch when she has one." Mac smiled and pointed toward Lindsay's desk. She was flipping through a stack of photos. She stopped on one and studied it intently.

"Montana, you don't need to study my picture. You've got the real thing standing right in front of you," Danny spread his arms wide and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Lindsay looked him up and down unabashedly.

"The real thing? Please, Messer," she smirked, grabbed the keys out of his hand, and strode toward the elevator. Danny shook his head and laughed softly."

"She'll fall for the old Messer charm yet," he thought.

_At The Crime Scene_

Lindsay handed Danny the tape-life materials from her kit and grabbed a handful of bindles.

"We're going for fingerprints and blood evidence, right?" she asked as Danny moved toward the red Mustang on the side of the road.

"Right. Mac needs to compare them to the suspect he has in custody," Danny confirmed. He went to the driver's side of the car, opened the door, and began dusting the steering wheel for prints. Lindsay opened the passenger side door and began collecting swabs of blood evidence, bagging each bindle. When they had collected all the evidence they could, they packed it all in the truck, confirmed that the car would be towed to the impound lot, and settled in for the drive back to the lab with Danny behind the wheel. As he started to pull away, a police officer tapped on Lindsay's window. Lindsay rolled down the window, an annoyed look on her face.

"Officer, we need to get this evidence to the lab ASAP. What the problem?" she snapped.

"Detective Monroe, I just got called to another scene and someone needs to stay here with the car until the tow truck gets here. Can you do it?"

Lindsay glanced at Danny.

"Don't start processing until I get there. This shouldn't take long and I definitely want in on this."

"Sure, sure. Meet you back at the lab."

On the way back, Danny's cell phone rang. It was Mac, asking him to hurry the evidence back to the lab. The suspect had already been held at the precinct for 48 hours and was due to be released soon unless he was charged in the crime. Danny thought about the promise he mad to Lindsay, telling her he would wait, but then he shrugged. Mac was his boss. He liked his job. Lindsay would understand.

_Back At The Lab_

Four hours later, Lindsay was finally back at the lab. Danny met up with her as he emerged from Mac's office.

"Montana, the evidence we collected at the scene this morning nailed Mac's suspect. Fantastic, eh?"

"Danny, I thought you were going to wait to process that."

"That was four hours ago. I'm sorry that impounding the car turned into such a hassle, but you know Mac needed that evidence right away."

"Did you tell him the situation?" Lindsay's face and neck were slowly turning red, and her words were clipped and steely. Danny stared at her in disbelief.

"Montana, I did what he told me to. He's the boss, remember? What are you so mad about?"

"Unbelievable. Thanks a lot, Messer." Lindsay wheeled around and stomped back to her desk. Danny Messer thought he was so special. Flirting wildly, stealing important cases out from under her and then acting like he was "just doing his job." Lindsay's eyes fell on the case file she had been studying. Her private investigation of Danny's father, Anthony Messer, was getting interesting, but she was reaching a point where she needed more information than an old case file could give her. She allowed herself a slippery smile as she watched Danny disappear into Stella's office. Payback's a bitch, Messer, and I'm going to get me some.


	4. Chapter 4 The Seduction Begins

Chapter 4: The Seduction Begins

Stella glanced up as Danny came into her office, closed the door, and sat in one of the chairs facing her desk.

"Well, Danny Messer, make yourself at home," she said with a wry smile.

"I don't understand that girl," Danny immediately started pouring out his problems to his co-worker. "Mac orders me to start processing evidence, I do what I'm told, I nail the guy and clear the case, and I get yelled at. I can't buy a break with her."

"You mean Lindsay? She's probably just upset because she got stuck at the impound lot. I don't know what she said, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with you." Stella kept typing at her computer as she said this. Danny got up from his chair and made his way to the door.

"I can see you don't really care. I'll leave you alone," he said in an injured tone.

"Oh, Danny, I just don't think it's a big deal. She'll probably apologize before the day is out."

"Right, right, She can't be that mad."

The rest of the day moved quickly for Lindsay. She knew she had to get to Danny before he left for the day, but she wasn't quite sure how to go about it. She had just bawled him out in the middle of the hallway for something he thought wasn't his fault.

"But he could have waited," Lindsay thought. "We had plenty of time before that carjacking-murder suspect was released. He just wanted to clear that case himself. Now he can pay for it by helping me out."

At that moment, Danny rounded the corner and moved toward his desk. Lindsay reminded herself not to lay it on too thick. After all, Messer wasn't stupid. Lindsay got out of her chair and stood in front of Danny's desk.

"Danny? Are you busy?"

Danny kept his eyes on the stack of papers in front of him. It sounded like he was about to get the apology Stella had predicted. He smiled to himself as he answered in a gruff voice.

"Yeah, I have a ton of paperwork to finish up from this morning and Mac said it has to be done before I leave for the weekend."

"Give me half of it. I did help collect evidence, so I can help with the paperwork."

"So you yell at me and now you offer to help me. I can't figure you out, Montana."

"Danny, there's nothing to figure out. I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's been a really long day." Lindsay suddenly had a flash of wicked inspiration. She turned away and closed her eyes. "And long days just make me more homesick than usual."

Danny got up from his chair and patted Lindsay's shoulder. "You need some cheering up. After we finish this paperwork, I'll take you out for a drink. I know this cozy little spot that would cure anyone's homesickness."

"I'd really rather just go home and curl up on the couch."

Danny flashed her his best smile. "Come on, Montana. Let me buy you a drink."

Lindsay gave him a small smile in return. "Alright."

Yes, Danny thought, the Messer charm is still going strong.

Yes, Lindsay thought, I've got him right where I want him.

Later that night, Danny took Lindsay to his favorite local bar. They each had a couple of drinks, they played pool and darts, and they talked about their plans for the weekend. Danny was vague about his plans to visit his parents and was impressed with the way Lindsay tried to draw him out. She asked about his brother's condition and listened attentively and sympathetically as he described Louie's prognosis. She asked about his parents and when he hesitated to answer her questions, she talked about her parents. She told some funny stories about life on the ranch in Montana. She asked about his childhood home and he opened up a bit about growing up in a small house in Staten Island, sharing a room with his brother, spending more time on the baseball field than in his home. Amazing how things change, Danny found himself saying. Now his parents lived in a spacious Manhattan apartment.

Danny walked Lindsay to the curb and hailed a cab, opening to door for her. Lindsay hesitated, then shyly kissed Danny on the cheek and climbed into the cab. After giving the cabbie her address, she pulled out her cell phone and called for Manhattan information. When prompted, she asked for an address for Anthony Messer.

Meanwhile, Danny started the short walk to his apartment building with a sparkle in his blue eyes. That's one terrific girl, he thought.


	5. Chapter 5 StakeOut

Author's Note: Sorry for the long absence…did a little traveling over the holidays and then couldn't decide where to go with this chapter. I did have some inspiration for a few chapters down the road…can't wait to write them…please review!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I just borrow once in a while!!

Chapter 5: Stake-Out

Saturday morning found Lindsay in her car across the street from the address she had gotten from Information the night before. She wrapped her hands around her lukewarm cup of coffee. The slightest whisper of guilt raced through her mind, but she silenced it immediately. This was the job, and she had to do what it took to get the job done.

She focused instead on the building she was casing. She had done some research on it the night before and discovered that apartments in this building went for several million dollars apiece. I wonder how Danny's parents went from a small house in Staten Island to this, she thought.

Just then, a dark Cadillac Escalade pulled up in front of the building. The doorman opened the rear passenger door and a tall, grey-haired, powerfully built man got out. As the doorman closed the door, Danny Messer himself came around the corner of the building. The older man caught sight of him and smiled. He and Danny embraced warmly, then the man took Danny's face in his hands and kissed both his cheeks. Lindsay's eyes brightened. This was Danny's father.

The two men chatted under the building's canopy for a moment. Anthony Messer pointed toward the front door. Danny made a "wait a second" motion with his hand. Anthony nodded and walked inside.

Ten bucks says he's going to have a cigarette before he goes inside to say hello to his mother, Lindsay thought. I wonder if she knows he smokes.

She smirked as Danny pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. After he lit up, he also pulled out his cell phone. Lindsay jumped as her cell phone rang. "Oh, brother," she said out loud. "This is a little ridiculous."

"Hello?"

"Montana, glad you're up. I just wanted to see if you were feeling any better this morning."

Lindsay watched him out her car window as she spoke. "I'm fine, Danny. Thanks again for the drink."

"You're welcome. How about doing it again tonight?"

"Tonight? I thought you were spending the weekend with your parents."

Danny glanced toward the top floors of the building, then out at the street. Lindsay ducked down in her car.

"My father has some business to deal with tonight, and I want to be out of here before it gets going."

Hmmm…..Lindsay did some quick thinking. She wanted to get some surveillance photos of Papa Messer's business associates. She could wait until they showed up, snap some photos, then meet Danny somewhere and try to get more information out of him.

"Well, if you're sure your mother won't miss you too much…"

Across the street, Danny broke into a grin.

"…..I'd love to. Where can I meet you?"

A couple of hours later, another dark-colored SUV pulled up to the apartment building. Two men wearing suits and sunglasses emerged. Anthony Messer came out the front door of the complex and held a lengthy conversation with them at the corner of the street.

I thought Danny wanted to be out of here by the time his father's business associates got here, Lindsay thought as she held up her camera and snapped a few shots of the men. I guess he didn't quite make it. At least daddy has the sense to conduct his business without implicating his son.

No sooner did this thought cross her mind than Danny exited the apartment building. He raised a hand in his father's direction and stepped to the curb to hail a cab. Anthony gestured for Danny to join him at the corner. Danny shook his head and pointed to his watch.

"Yeah, Dad, don't make him late for his date," Lindsay said softly. She hefted her camera in her hands and continued to watch from her vantage point in her car across the street.

Anthony Messer walked toward his son and took his arm, pulling him toward the small group of men of the corner. Danny reluctantly walked slowly toward the group. He refused the offer of a cigarette and did not shake hands with the men. After a brief exchange, Danny hailed his cab and left.

Lindsay put her camera down and started her car. She felt a little frustrated that she had not been able to catch Danny on film with Anthony Messer's associates, but realized with a sigh that it was quite unlikely that Danny himself was involved in anything illegal. From all appearances, Danny seemed to be trying hard to keep his distance from his father's business dealings. Lindsay also knew that Danny had the opportunity to join the Tanglewood Boys in his younger days, but had chosen not to. As she waited for a break in the traffic, Lindsay mulled over the cases she had worked on with Danny. He certainly displayed a remarkable amount of passion for catching the bad guy.

No, Lindsay thought. It would be waste of time to try to implicate Danny. Better to focus on his father and those "business associates." She felt sure that she had gotten some clear pictures of them, which she would run through the database tomorrow. Lindsay put her car in gear and pulled away from the curb. Danny could prove himself useful in other ways.


	6. Chapter 6 A Little Information

Author's Note: If you didn't read the rest of the story, you'd almost think this was DL fluff. I did realize at this point that I had to give Danny a little credit for being observant. He is a detective, after all.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Still enjoy them greatly.

Chapter 6: A Little Information

Lindsay stepped out of her cab in front of a small Italian restaurant. She had changed into a blue dress with a halter top and full skirt. She paired the dress with a set of strappy silver sandals and left her hair down. She looked around as she stepped into the restaurant and spied Danny sitting on a bench in the lobby. He checked his watch as she walked up to him.

"Am I late?" Lindsay asked, smiling down at Danny. Her smile widened as his eyes lit up with appreciation at the sight of her. He stood up to greet her.

"No, I got here pretty early. I wanted to beat you here."

Danny had put some thought into his wardrobe for the evening, as well. He wore a well-cut pair of black dress slacks and a red button-down shirt, open at the neck.

"As competitive off the job as he is on the job. Nice, Messer."

"Not competitive, just a gentleman. My mother always told me never to keep a lady waiting."

At this juncture, the hostess led them to their table. Lindsay observed the tasteful furnishings, well-dressed clientele, and low lighting.

"Nice place, Messer. Although I'm a little surprised you picked Italian."

"Why is that, Montana? Don't you know an Italian man when you see one?"

"That's why I'm surprised. Doesn't your mother's home cooking satisfy you?"

The waiter handed out menus and water. Danny thanked him and turned his attention back to Lindsay.

"The only problem with my mother's cooking is that I don't get enough of it."

"Did you get any of it today?"

"Nah, she wasn't feeling that great today, so I did the cooking."

"And did she pass her culinary skills on to her son?"

"Let's just say it's a good thing she keeps PB&J on hand."

Danny smiled and caught Lindsay's eye across the table. She absently smiled back, but inside, the wheels were turning. The last time she was with Danny, he seemed quite reluctant to talk about his family. Now he seemed more relaxed, but Lindsay had to be careful. After all, who but a detective would know what it feels like to be interrogated?

"I'll have the chicken parmesan. Lindsay? Lindsay?"

Lindsay looked up with a start and realized that the waiter was patiently standing next to her.

"Oh, I'll have the linguine with clam sauce."

Danny peered at her curiously.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Lindsay did some fast fabricating. "You said that you were going to spend the weekend with your family, and yet, here you are with me. I would think with your brother still in the hospital that your parents would be anxious to keep you around the house. I guess I'm wondering why you are here instead of there when they need you."

Danny shook his head a picked up a piece of garlic bread.

"I appreciate your concern, especially since you did so much to help me and my brother, but my folks don't need me the way you think they do."

"What does that mean?"

"Geez, Montana, we haven't even started eating yet and you want to start the heavy discussions."

Danny shifted in his chair, leaned back, and looked at Lindsay steadily. Lindsay knew that if she looked away, Danny would know she was up to something. His skills in the interrogation room were among the best she had ever seen. Surely he would recognize his own techniques if she pushed too hard. With this in mind, she gazed back into his blue eyes and frowned a little.

"Like you said, Danny, I helped you out on that Tanglewood case. I saw firsthand how upset your whole family was when that all went down. If we're gong to have something here, I need to know that there's no extra drama attached."

At that moment, their waiter appeared and handed out the various dishes of aromatic food. Throughout this entire process, Danny kept his eyes on Lindsay. She realized that he was trying to come to a decision. The waiter left and Danny picked up his wine glass and took a swig, never breaking his gaze. He put his glass down and finally spoke.

"Are we going to have something here?"

Well, that's not what I was expecting, Lindsay thought.

"I certainly hope so."

Again, an endless moment passed. Lindsay was starting to feel quite nervous when Danny spoke again.

"I'm here with you because my father had some business to deal with tonight. He called me last night because he wanted me to help him out. I asked him to put it off for the weekend so that I could just spend time with them, but he wouldn't do it. I was hoping I could convince him this morning when I went over there, but he insisted on taking care of it today. We actually had kind of a fight about it. Like I said, he doesn't need me like you think he does. It's hard to explain, but with my father, it's all about business, especially since my brother got hurt."

Lindsay sat back and absorbed this. She was surprised that Danny had volunteered this much information. Just a little more for tonight, she thought. Then I'll have to do the blushing romantic act again. Give a little, get a little.

"So your father wants your help with the family business. Why not give him a hand?"

She had deliberately worded her question that way so she could gauge his reaction.

Danny blew a breath out of his mouth and stared at the ceiling.

"The family business…..damn, Montana. You been watching The Sopranos?" His voice sounded light-hearted, but he didn't look at her.

Lindsay laughed teasingly.

"You didn't answer my question. Why not just help out he old man?"

"Ah…..conflict of interest, I guess you could say. I'm going out for a smoke. Save me some garlic bread."

Lindsay nodded and smiled.

"Remember what your mother said."

"What's that?"

"Never keep a lady waiting."

Danny grinned and left the dining room area. After he came back, the couple finished their dinner and shared a piece of cheesecake for dessert. They shared a cab to Lindsay's apartment. Danny asked the cabbie to wait and walked Lindsay into her apartment building's lobby, which was deserted.

"Thanks for a lovely evening, Danny."

"You're welcome, Miss Monroe."

Danny leaned closer to Lindsay. Realizing that he wanted to kiss her, Lindsay steeled herself and closed her eyes. At the last second, Danny hesitated and pecked her on the cheek.

"I'll call you tomorrow. Sleep tight." He walked out the door and got into the cab.

Lindsay stood in her lobby for a moment, startled that Danny had gone cold on her so suddenly. She shrugged, walked out her front door, and hailed another cab. She was on her way to the lab to look up Anthony Messer's known associates and compare them to the photos she had taken earlier that day. Maybe on their next date, Danny would work out his nerves.

Across town, Danny looked out the window of his cab. What's the matter with me, he wondered. And why the hell didn't I kiss her?


End file.
